Five Things You Might Not Know About Al Franken

Al Franken, the U.S. Senator from Minnesota finally made it to Capitol Hill today. It has been a long journey for him with the Battle of Minnesota finally concluding between him and Republican Norm Coleman. Even though the election committee agreed that Franken had won, the Minnesota Supreme Court had to finally decide the outcome. So who is Al Franken? As some people may say, “he’s that comedian/Senator from Minnesota”. While Al is a comedian, he is also much deeper than just your typical prankster. Here are five fun facts about Senator Franken that you might not have known.

Al Franken was born in New York City and grew up in Minnesota, just outside of Minneapolis, with a traditional Jewish upbringing. He graduated from the Blake School (a private college-prep school) in 1969 where he lettered in wrestling. On his SAT’s, Al scored a perfect 800 in the Math category which helped him get into Harvard, where he graduated Cum Laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science.

Al met his wife Franni during their freshman year at a college mixer. The couple has two children, both of whom are Ivy League graduates (Harvard and Princeton). A long relationship compared to most celebrity couples, the two have been together since 1970.

Al’s first job out of college was as an apprentice writer for Saturday Night Live in New York City. He worked there as a comedy sketch writer with a friend of his, Tom Davis, with whom he knew since his high school days. The two writers made $350 per week – to be divided between them – during that initial stint on the popular comedy show.

Bill Clinton once ran into Al Franken in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while Clinton was promoting his autobiography. When President Clinton saw Franken, it is said that he exclaimed, “My Hero is here!” The two are actually friends.

In addition to being a comedy writer, Al has written several award winning books, including: “Lies and the Lying Liars That Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” which became a mega-hit after Fox News Network, who claims that they deliver the news “Fair and Balanced” promoted his book while suing him. An entire chapter of the book is dedicated to the lies told by Fox News Commentator, Bill O’Reilly. Al also has done work with the USO and was a talk radio host on, “The Al Franken Show.”